This was our first return to Masa’s in many years. New décor, new chef? What to expect? In a word or two, we were very pleased. You enter Masa’s through a beige limestone foyer separated from the dining room by ceiling-high white curtains that, at least in daylight, seem, from the restaurant, to be lit from behind. The room is relatively small, with only 65 seats, but the tables and banquettes are widely spaced. The brilliant white Frette napery is set off strikingly against rich, dark colors on the mohair banquettes and the walls and floor. The famous Albert Guibara sculpture of three long-limbed dancers holding asparagus, artichokes and grapes dominates the room. Large lantern-like red and white Chinese silk chandeliers complete the picture. Here's a look; we were seated at the farthest distant table in this view: Service is extremely professional, yet not stuffy. Our personable captain offered advice and suggestions when asked, and breezily and, in some cases, humorously answered whatever questions we had. All areas of service were admirable, the well choreographed ambience of a place that knows what it’s doing. Our amuse buche was a demitasse cup of chilled asparagus soup. A dash of lemon oil brightened up and significantly enhanced this already delicious offering. A second amuse was sashimi of wild King salmon with a ponzu gelée and a tiny salad of the babiest of baby red and green mâche. We were off to a great start. Both Joy and I selected soft shell crabs as our appetizers. A perfectly sautéed soft blue crab was adorned with pink rice vinegar, yellow wax beans, English peas, wild asparagus tips and tiny melon balls, watermelon and cantaloupe. A very colorful plate, full of flavor. This is hardly what one gets anywhere near the Chesapeake! Joy chose Niman Ranch lamb chops (a $15 supplement over the $65 prix-fixe menu) as her entrée. Out came two spectacular double chops cooked to her medium-rare specification, with roasted fingerling potatoes and a very lightly breaded, deep-fried zucchini blossom stuffed with ratatouille. I had a taste of the excellent lamb; Joy described the rest as outstanding. My entrée was a tenderloin of milk-fed veal, again cooked perfectly. Two nicely-sized pieces of the tenderloin came sitting atop small pasta shells mixed with fresh fava beans and small pieces of sweetbreads, all enhanced by a savory veal shallot jus. Beans are generally not a favorite of mine (recalling my mom’s Jewish/Eastern European heritage of cooking vegetables until they were dead), but I loved this dish. We had a nice chat with our Australian sommelier, having noted on the list the presence of a Sauvignon Blanc from the Martinborough region of New Zealand. We agreed that this is an emerging winemaking area, on NZ’s North Island about two hours from Wellington, and far from the more well-known Marlborough region on the South Island. (Never mind that Australia is over a thousand miles from Australia; at this point, I hadn’t ascertained whether he was an Aussie or a Kiwi!) With his help, I chose a reasonably priced French Red Burgundy, a Domaine Joblot 1er Cru Servoisine 2000, from Givry, a region of Burgundy certainly more obscure than, say, Beaune or Côte de Nuits. Delicious. Desserts were inventive and great. Joy had buttermilk beignets, very small, square, airy pillows better that any we’ve ever had in New Orleans. They came with a tiny cherry ice cream soda, a perfect compliment. I had assorted sorbets with chilled fruit soup and topped with a couple of pieces of fruit paper so thin you could see through them. This assemblage made this ordinarily common dish unique. Espressos, even my double, were included in the prix fixe. Rounding things off, we were treated to an assortment of chocolates and other mignardises from a lovely cart, along with Masa’s signature homemade lollipops. This was a wonderful, leisurely paced dinner, clearly among the best San Francisco has to offer. Chef Ron Siegel, who joined Masa’s early in 2001 when it reopened after a renovation, has announced that he will be leaving soon for The Ritz Carlton. While Masa’s may or may not suffer depending upon who replaces him, at least San Franciscans and visitors like us will still be able to delight over his food.
